The Ice Princess

nanowrimo snap!

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:15:36 GMT

Oh snap! I swore I was going to do nano responsibly this year. I even put all the write ins on my calendar and started logging back in to the website.

But here I am. No idea what to write. Not feeling inspired. Probably not having much spare time...

Excuses, excuses! I know!

So who else is writing this year and what's the 12 word synopsis of your novel?

back off christmas!

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:44:40 GMT

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:33:18 GMT

For my 30th birthday I got a cold! Not fair. Actually it jived quite well with my plan to spend the day in bed reading, watching movies, and playing games. The only major drawback was that alcohol and cake do not taste good when you're sick. Blegh!

I did get some shiny new 2d animation software to play with and that makes me pretty happy. I also got lots of lovely friend phone calls and texts and my brother even called and played happy birthday on the didgeridoo, which was weird, nice, but weird.

Today is a sick day that will be spent catching up on the previous 3 days of illness and tomorrow I'm teaching water chemistry all day. I wanted to teach benthics because benthics are cool and funky. But nooooooo. I have to teach chemistry. :P

mushrooms & slugs!

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:00:21 GMT

squish squash

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:03:21 GMT

I would really like to be able to say that I almost wrecked my scooter in an effort to avoid hitting a suicidal squirrel this morning because I am a kind person who truly belevies in the sanctity of life. But really, it was the images of squirrel viscera splattered all over my legs that motivated me...

garden update

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:29:10 GMT

Real life's hard so I thought I'd give a garden update because that part is going well. :)

So Ellie and I spent much of today outside in the garden since it is really rather beautiful here. Plus we want to be there when the first egg is laid. It currently looks like it will be Claire (the buff orpington) as she is the one making the "OMG Something is WRONG in my body!" noises the most.

Anyway, we took this opportunity to determine who/what exactly has been stealing various nummies from our yard. Here is the list:

Hazlenuts: Eastern Grey Squirrels for the last 2 weeks. This week we added a flock of 3 very obnoxious Stellar Jays. Ellie was willing to take on the squirrels (she actully killed one) but the jays are just a bit too scary.

Yellow Cookneck Squash: 1 cheeky little bastard squirrel. He's the more reddish one of the bunch. He also steals them about 12 hours before they're ready to be harvested. Note: I have 3 pretty little pumpkins just starting to turn orange. If he goes after them, I'll release Rodney and his bow and arrows.

Apples: chickens- They just discovered them this week. I can't say that I'm overly upset about this though.

Peppers: Luna (the fat chicken with all the feathers). She doesn't actually eat the peppers. Instead, she eats the pepper flowers. This MIGHT be acceptable if she seemed like she had any plans for laying any eggs, but as yet, she is in not rush ot become a contributing member of this household.

Otherwise the garden is going well. We get about 4 cucumbers a day, a squash when I beat the squirrel to it, quite a few tomatoes, and are waiting on the corn. It is just now flowering. I've already put in a bed of winter lettuce and onions and we harvested a metric ton of potatoes last week. I've also bagged about 20 quart bags of apples and made over 26 cups of apple butter. Not sure what we're going to do with all that apple butter though... There are only so many stack cakes that we can eat...

Hope this finds you well. I'm headed back out to work a little more.

fanboys

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:46:03 GMT

EVERYONE who knows me as a geek should watch fanboys, especially my cin-city friends. I swear I almost pissed myself laughing. :)

reciprocal altruism

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:44:38 GMT

I'm really getting tired of being nice and polite to people who:

1. are not nice and polite back
2. do not deserve for me to be nice an dpolite to them
3. only "earned" my good behavior because they're mucky-mucks or I need something from them.

So I just keep putting emails and phone calls with whom I'm struggling on the back burner. But that means I've got about 6 emails/calls that I'm avoiding and avoiding them is just making me more resentful and angry...

~wanders off murmering about reciprocal altruism and its long term benefits...~

therapy fail

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:43:52 GMT

So we're in family therapy right now. Mostly because the little boy is a nasty bit of work, and we're trying to figure out ways to live with him without killing him. I swear it is like living with Kreature the house elf.

But I'm just not that touchy feely of a person. So, while I'm pretty sure you can't actually "fail" at theraphy, I might be rewriting that rule weekly.

Case in point, the following conversation:

Therapist: Can you name one positive change or accomplishment you'd like to have in your home in the next month?
Big Friendly Indian: I'd like to spend more time together as a family
(Me in my mind): For the love of god no! I was hoping for more personal time.
Little Surly Indian: Whatever. It doesn't matter.
Me IRL: I'd like for us to have screens on all the windows since it is warming up fast.
Everyone else in the room: *blink* *blink*

I think it is a completely rational desire and one that might actually be attainable...

Love the peterman

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:31:27 GMT

I love Petey. I really do. But he's just so... Petey. He's like having a short furry frat boy for a roomate. Complete with all night parties, snooring, flatulence, and horrid eating habits. But as soon as he sees us he's so happy he almost chokes himself purring. So you can't help but love the big lug, even if he's got kitty aspergers (not joking, he really has it), weighs at least 25 lbs, and sleeps like this:

recession actions

Fri, 29 May 2009 23:25:59 GMT

Welp, as of next friday, Rodney's job runs out. Hopefully his company will get a bid on another job soon, but that isn't assured. :P

On the more humorous side, the tightening of the proverbial belt had hit our furbabies the hardest. Instead of expensive salon/spa dogggie lama and cat summer hair cuts, we're going back to hair chopping a-la-foodlady. Before and after pics coming soon!

i gots a scooter!

Thu, 21 May 2009 18:14:23 GMT

I gots a scooter! She is YELLOW (so that bad drivers can see me) and I think I might love her. :)

I also think I'll name her Carla.

And for those of you who are worried: She is only 50cc, so I can only drive her on surface streets and she maxes out at 35mph. And she is YELLOW.

Sat, 16 May 2009 02:33:54 GMT

I need halp thinking of a new career. I'd be happy to stay at my current salary if I only worked 40-45 hours a week. I'd be even happier with a big raise with 40-45 hours a week with weekends off, or at least two weekends off a month...

So given that "scientists" is my only real qualification... what should I do? I'm thinking custodian or mailperson... maybe even firewoman....

randomness

Fri, 08 May 2009 00:17:58 GMT

1. In response to Gojiro's post about the evolution of social networking sites and the overwhelming response taht we all prefer LJ: I prefer lj because I feel ike I actually learn a little about each of you and get to know you. All the other sites seem to have such short snippets of information. I like that for some things, but often I really want to know what you think about something in your life. So I prefer LJ. Facebook seems ok for connecting with some more casual relationships.

2. The GFI and I have decided to get fit together. Yay go team! The GFI is seriously overweight and has realized it trough some new health issues. So we're giving up a few things (including our nightly beers), trying to eat smaller portions, and his eating a lot less carbs (carbs=indians=overwight with diabetes).

3. On the working out note, I think that there is now a big profit ot be made on craigslist and Indi's post on used things no longer being cheap. Used scooters are more expensive than new ones. Used weight benches with weights are about 200-500 on CL. At Big5 they're 150-300. WTF mate? CL used to be the way to get stuff.

4. I HATE being a stepmom. I want to live my own life and not have to deal with the shit of a shitty teen. In reality he isn't any shittier than any of the rest of us were, but it is still annoying. So after long weeks of lying, sneaking around, breaking curfew, cutting class, and all sorts of lovely stuff, I had enough. No more Ms. Nice Annie. We took his door off the hinges, took his phone and computer, and told him he is grounded without these things for 2 week. He can't even earn them back. He's hasn't even SEEN evil stepmom yet.

5. I'm writing a science haiku a day. I like it. It is lots of creative geek fun. I don't always do all days because I forget. But you can read them here: http://sciencehaikuaday.blogspot.com/

6. I'm also facebooking- you can friend me here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1712599594&ref=profile I don't know how I feel about it yet or if I'll stick with it.

7. Back to work now. It is a 12 hour day for me. Ick. BUT, I have Saturday off. Mwahahahaha!

the dark side

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:30:10 GMT

Welp twitter didn't work out for me. Not my thing. Now I'm off the try facebook. But I can have a pen name there that I can tell of. So I'm signed up as Ellie Morton if you want to find me. The dark side had more cookies...

too quiet-sublime!

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:59:31 GMT

My journal is too quiet these days! I can only burn about 30-45 minutes on it and it used to be such a reliable time-suck.

But I suppose I should take some of the responsibility since I hardly ever post either.

So in remedy to that, a post from yours truly.

In my literary and personal explorations I'm beginning to notice that the sublime is an emotion/reation/necessity only to and just a few woemn. Most women are perfectly capable of goign out and experiencing nature without having to have some sort of personal relevation, intense awe inspiring experience, or demi-religious connection with nature.

Is this cultural/nuture? Do we frown upon strong emotions and power in women and therefore don't allow them to behave thus and reject the female authors who connect with the sublime?

Or is this nature? Is this a behavior we've evolved and if so why? I personally have no need for the sublime to enjoy myself in nature and find it inspiring. I'm just as happy to meander through a meadow than go conquer a mountian. What is it that makes men desire to conquer mountains and spend nights alone battling the elements?

feather butts! feather butts!

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:28:57 GMT

Spring has springa nd not only do I have a great big vegetable garden, I just got 3 baby featherbutt chicks to have as yard friends! So without futher ado... the baaaaaaaybies! In clickable thumbnail form!

This is Luna. She is a black cochin. She likes her food... a lot. Therefore, I like her a lot.

This is Fiona. She is the sweetest of the bunch.

This is Claire. She is a buff orpington. She was alone for a few days (we got her first) so she is fixated on Ellie. Whoops!

Luna likes her food so much that she sometimes falls asleep while eating. Face first. Into the food dish.

on a side note

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:52:28 GMT

I forgot to post:

Norwescon has reminded me that I should either:

1. Get back into writing. Not just this sciency essay stuff. Real fiction. I still write it in my head (usually during staff or board meetings), I just need to get back into the habit of actually writing it.

2. Get back into art. The art show was beautiful and I actually bought a few pieces. But next year Rodney and I should do a join group and sell some stuff. Of course it would mean that I'd have to do something that requires less time than embroidery.

Since I'm tired of WoW and can't find a good replacement, I might have the time...

well that was fun

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:44:47 GMT

Sorry for the long silence. Work was eating me alive and then norwescon did its best to chew a leg or two off. So here is the run down:

Work has been uber busy since my vacation. I feel like I'm being punished for taking time off. Between students, capital projects, and trying to finish up some other projects, I'm about 2 weeks behind. And I've got a big grant due wednesday. Blegh. But I did get permission to hire two more part-timers! This will allow me to pass of some of the not-annie's-skill-set tasks to them and work more on my stuff. Yay!

Norwescon was a lot of fun. I met some really cool people and really enjoyed myself. No I didn't make any friends, but I did try! One day I'll stop being shy and socially inept! One day! I did make personal contact with the Seattle Browncoats and now instead of lurking on their newsgroups, I'll maybe stepup and go to a shindig. :)

In the meantime, I spoke on 8 panels, most of which were enjoyable. My first few I worked very hard on preparing some information based on the panel "topic" but then I realized that all panels are bogarted by either an alpha panelist or some of the audience. Which is ok. The point is to speak on what people what to know about. And, I was liberated to stop preparing for my panels. Yay!

It was very nice to be attractive for a whole 4 days. I know that sounds very vain but I spend a lot of my time feeling like my mental capabilities aren't at all interesting or attractive to people. But at norwescon, they appreciated that I'm vaguely intelligent and in fact thought of it as an asset. I that the con-go-er group finds attractiveness in things other than the norms.

Today has been: Watching Gosford Park (meh), cleaning out the car with Ellie (she lost her leash and a chewiw in the mess and I was missing a pair of shoes), and piddling around in the yard (we put in quite a few flower beds and a large garden this year).

Still left on the agenda on my last day off:
1. Take out and clean out the compost- Blegh! What IS that smell?
2. Go to bank and pet store- Out of dog food.
3. Watch another girl movie- has to be done before Rodney gets home.
4. Work on the conservation fellows grant. :P

Off to complete above list.

dancing phalanges

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:45:21 GMT

There are lots of reasons why I like being a member of a species with adept and manipulative hands with a nice opposable thumb and wiggly fingers. But today I want thinking about how nice it is to be able to pick things in your eye, out of your eye. Bucky has a hair caught on her eye and can do nothing about it. She rubs a bit and her eye is weepy, but that's about it. I on the other hand (hehe, pun!) can peel my eyelids back, run a finger along my eyeball, and remove most irritants. Very nice. Sad for Bucky, good for me.

Off to squirt eye drops in the cat's eye!

Dey drives funny there

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:44:29 GMT

Having moved a few times now and lived ina few different cities, I'm noticing some large differences in the driving "culture" of various areas.

For example: People in the South drive like bats out of hell. They're polite as can be about it, but they always drive at LEAST 10-15 miles over the speed limit.

Cincinnati: generally nice but head-in-the-clouds rudeness and errors. They cut you off, but they don't mean to!

Seattle: all that repressed emotion and passion comes out when they drive. Rude as hell and intentional about it. But they don't look you in the eye while they very intetionally cut you off.

Arizona: everyone drinks and drives. Its what you do.

Do my dear friends. Where do you live and what do you think your city's/state's/region's driving culture is?

Yay and boo

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:34:11 GMT

Yay for a lovely vacation! Boo for coming home to the bigger boy having dey flu!

So my vacation was fanfuckingtastic! Too wonderful for words generally. I spent a few days with friends and a few with family. It was a good balance and I didn't feel too pulled one way or the other.

Highlights of the trip include:
Beer at Sunspot with Em, Gabe, and Mary. I like these people more and more as I age. And I mean that in a good way. There is a reason we found each other and made friends a gajillion years ago.

Knoxville Zoo with mum and Mary. When I finally get pissed off enough and tired of my job to tell it where to stuff it (the job is the problem not the people) I'm going to go shovel animal shit and chop carrots at the zoo. I really think I could be happy doing this for the rest of my life. Meanwile the red pandas were super active and I want one.

Cincinnati: I honestly haven't had this much fun socially since I left. I'd forgotten what it meant to have friends that you love dearly and have lots in common with. We did the pub thing and it was so much fun.

Camping with the folks: I'm glad that my parent's idea of camping in their old age includes renting a cabin with central heat and air and a bathroom. Lots of hiking and reading.

Spending time with dey Mary: It is very nice to have a friend with whom you are comfortable. Nothing is required or asked; it just is.

On the bad side, my brother is bug-nuts. When I get over being mad at him for a few minutes-I get really sad about it.

And now I'm home and have resolved to make friends in Seattle! I'm going to be an active member in the local browncoats, start going to pub trivia, and go back to my sewing group. Who knows! I may get wild and... we'll I probably won't get wild. :)

Miss you all already!

but I don't want to go back...

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:59:24 GMT

Well, I'm back from Cincinnati AND then back from the mountains. Both trips were lovely and fantaublous. I'll do a whole vacation run-down tomorrow evening when I'm back in Seattle.

Which brings me to the point of this post: But I don't WANT to go back! Mostly it is because of the weather and the gradual wearing down of me by my job that will recommences on Monday.

I like it here in the sunshine whith my friend with whom I actually have something in common. :D

haaaaaaappy birfday!

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:33:04 GMT

Happy Birfday Sherry! I'd sing but then no-one would be happy. :)

the real scars

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:18:50 GMT

Did your parents ever say anything seemingly innocent that eventually impacted your entire view of the world, the way in which to relate tos omething substantial, or your emotional well being? I'm not talking about the big stuff like not being worthy, not being good enough, etc. I'm talking about the little stuff. Like "your eyes will stick that way" or "tie your shoes or you'll get sucked into the escalator".

Mine was "Eat all your food. There are children starving in China". To this day I friggin can't waste even the smallest amount of food. I'll have been eating on the same lasagne (soup, pasta, etc.) leftovers all friggin week and be so tired of it that I can't even look at it. But what do I do on day 7 of leftover-lasagne-for-lunch? I scrape off the green spots and pop another round in the microwave. Why you ask? Because there are starving children in china.

Thanks mum and dad. I survived the big stuff only to have my very own must-eat-it-all-eventually eating disorder.

I also have a recycling problem which I blame on a combo of Mary and my dad.